Vietnam forum

Hoi An guesthouses help needed

bonze

Joined Travelfish24th January, 2006Posts: 4

I've been going through and comparing your Hoi An listings to my guidebook and other stuff on the web. I've whittled it down to a few, but have some questions. I promise I won't ask you these type of questions for everywhere I stay. ;-)

My finalists are:
Nhi Trung
Dai Long
Thien Thanh
Greenfield

I'd prefer not to spend more than $10 a night.

1:Of these which would you say is the best backpacker place? I'm travelling alone so want somewhere where I can meet others.
2:Also, are they inside Hoi an or outside? I can't find them all on the map in my book.
3:You seem to like the Then Thanh why?
4: For the greenfeld, i checked their website and their rate is higher than what you say it is. Also, my book says they have a dorm but you don't mention it. Is there a dorm and what is the right price?
5: I've not been to asia before, so are all these places safe? will they speak english?

I have another question for hoi an but i will put it in a new topic. Thanks

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somtam2000

1) If you're on a budget and want to hang out with backpackers fairly close to town, I would recommend the Dai Long. If you don't mind spending a little more and would like to be able to book in advance then the Thien Thanh is an excelent choice. They are very friendly there, though it is a good 15 minute walk from there to the river. Greenfield is popular and bigger -- so you'll probably meet more people there, but is further out of town on the road to the beach.

2) Nhi Trung, Dai Long and Thien Thanh are all quite close together about a 10-15 minute walk from the river. Greenfield is further away on the beach road.

3) The back rooms look out over paddies, the rooms are SPOTLESS and the staff friendly.

4) The rates we put on the site are the rates that the hotel tells the researcher when we show up -- we don't identify ourselves as being a researcher, so we just show what they tell us. They may have a higher rate on their website for any number of reasons. They no longer have a dorm. They do have a pool though (none of the other places listed above have a pool).

clouie

The taxi driver took us to Phuoc An Hotel. Apparently he gets a commission as he is their friend. No major complaints (paid $20 a night). The hotel and rooms look very nice, although they are all a little different (We had friends in another room and we changed to a room with 1 bed on the second night).

If you look close, some things are not completely spotless and I'd be worried that 5 years from now it won't be well-maintained. For example, the shower/faucet went across the bathtub instead of being at one end. The water flowed onto the tile and then into the tub. I thought it was pretty cool, but it could get grimy in a few years.

We had dinner there one night. It was quite tasty. We did find a long hair in the stir-fried vegetables. We pointed it out to the waitress and at first she tried to tell us it was part of the vegetable (sometimes the spinach-like vegetable can be stringy, but looks white). After we disagreed she then said it wasn't the cook, but her boss that was leaning over the stove. They have something to learn about customer satisfaction. Lying is not a good thing. We didn't care, but just thought they should know. We ate it all anyway.

We just changed over to the Thien Thanh hotel for a change of scenery and to see what everyone is raving about. It IS spotless.